Season of Giving, 2018

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

The Season of Giving is almost upon us! It begins on Nov. 4, All Saints with the UTO kickoff and extends to Dec. 16, the end of the ECM Christmas.

Part of holy living is to share our resources with others since God has been generous with us. The Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons give us the opportunity to do just that. During the next few weeks at St. Peter’s, you can choose one or more of several ways to help people close to home and those around the world by participating in these various opportunities. At a glance:

Project

Focus

Items

Collection

ECM

Local

Funds

Nov. 4. By Nov 18 (Thanksgiving) Dec. 16 (Christmas)

UTO

National, International

Funds

Nov. 4 – Dec. 2

Heifer Project

International.

Funds

Nov. 11 – Dec. 9, Fill the Ark!

Episcopal Relief & Development

International

Funds

By Dec. 16

Help ERD support cleanup for Hurricane Florence and related disasters. Your gift provides their partners on the ground with critical supplies, such as food and water, pastoral care and other urgent needs for communities impacted by Hurricane Michael and other ravaging storms. Funds are also used to assist with the long-term efforts needed to rebuild and heal.

Village Harvest

Local

Food stuffs, Funds

By Nov 21 (for Nov), By Dec. 19 (for Dec.)

Please donate toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex and other paper products

1.  Heifer Project is new this year!  We will be doing the “Fill the Ark” project

Each family will receive a Calendar and Giving Bank  on Nov. 11. The calendar is divided into four weeks, one week on each page. Each day focuses on a single animal,  part of Heifer’s work with populations.

After reading the day’s lesson, determine how much money to place in the Giving Bank.  Place your family’s gift into the Giving Bank and say a prayer that the money will be used to help another family somewhere in the world.

As you fill a Giving Bank with money you’ve saved, you’ll learn how your gifts can share God’s love and end hunger and poverty around the world. Bring the Giving Bank back to the church by Dec. 9

Heifer Project 2018 page

2. The United Thank Offering helps The Episcopal Church Women help people in the United States and around the world. Put coins in the blue box for thanks and blessings in your life. What kind of thanks? FOR LITTLE THINGS like a good parking spot on a busy day, sunshine for your family picnic, or a birthday card from a friend. FOR BIG THINGS like recovery from serious illness, a new job, or forgiveness and reconciliation after a long dispute.

Thankfulness leads to generosity, and your donation will help with projects that provide new spaces for people to gather and to worship, transportation, playgrounds, education, medical services, hot lunches—the list is endless.

The money you donated to the UTO last year helped to fund grants . Last year we collected $757.09

Begins Nov. 4 with the distribution of “blue boxes” with collection by Dec. 2. You may submit a “blue box” or check to St. Peter’s with “UTO” in the memo line.

UTO 2018 page

3. Episcopal Church Men (ECM). Last year they supported 3 families for Thanksgiving and another 3 families for Christmas and collected $1,135 (compared with $1,085 the previous year). This effort will include Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner and Christmas presents for them. The men will contact the families and purchase the items in consultation with them and deliver them at the appropriate time.

They are requesting donations of any amount from the congregation in support of their project. This is not just a ECM project!

Thanksgiving -Collection begins Nov 4 and ends Nov. 18 for Thanksgiving.

Christmas collection begins Nov 25  and ends Dec. 16. Please mark your check “ECM, season of giving”  

4. Village Harvest

VH is 4 years old in November! It has provided these benefits:

A. Food for those who are being challenged economically.
B. Enriching those at St. Peter’s who help with the distribution.
C. Providing a role for the church in the community. People who are not members are coming here.

Monthly, the parish has contributed other non-perishable products, such as chicken broth, beans, rice, spaghetti and sauce, paper product, tuna, peanut butter, etc.

For November, we are collecting toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex and other paper products.

The method of distribution has evolved from paper bags to a market style distribution where people can shop as they need.

Please contribute toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex and other paper products to the Nov. Village Harvest by Sunday, Nov. 18 and help celebrate 4 years of this vital ministry. You can always make a monetary donation with “Village Harvest” in the memo line.

Thanks goes out to Johnny and Cookie Davis who go to the Northern Neck Food Bank to purchase fresh produce. That’s a big commitment. Thanks to all in the church who have contribute the non-perishable products each month and particularly to those who help distribute the food monthly.

5. Episcopal Relief and Development.

In their mission statement they say “We facilitate healthier, more fulfilling lives in communities struggling with hunger, poverty, disaster and disease. Our work addresses three life-changing priorities to create authentic, lasting results.”

We are focusing on giving to their Hurricane Relief Fund by Dec. 12.

After most disasters ERD emphasizes there are distinct, sometimes overlapping, phases: Rescue, Relief and Recovery.

Phase 1 – Rescue

“The Rescue phase focuses on saving lives and securing property. It is most acute in those parts of a region that are directly flooded or damaged. Police, fire departments and other government agencies are best able to do this work. They have training and expertise, and they have equipment that can clear roads and debris and find people. The Rescue phase can take one to two weeks, sometimes longer.

“The Rescue phase focuses on saving lives and securing property. It is most acute in those parts of a region that are directly flooded or damaged. Police, fire departments and other government agencies are best able to do this work. They have training and expertise, and they have equipment that can clear roads and debris and find people. The Rescue phase can take one to two weeks, sometimes longer.

Phase 2 – Relief

“Next is the Relief phase. We and our partners begin preparing for this phase once we understand the magnitude of an event. During this phase, the local church will be one of the first places people go to seek assistance and shelter. Because they are prepared and experienced in disaster response, we know that our partners in the impacted dioceses will be active in the Relief phase. This is where Episcopal Relief & Development can support our partners.

Phase 3 – Recovery

“Eventually, we get to the third and final phase: Recovery. During this period, the emphasis shifts to restoring services, repairing houses and buildings, returning individuals to self-sufficiency and rebuilding communities. Hurricane Florence presents two challenges in this regard. First, the double whammy of Rescue on top of Recovery: many communities that are now being inundated with rain and rising water from Hurricane Florence are still recovering from Hurricane Matthew’s impact in 2016.

“The second challenge of the Recovery phase is that most of the television cameras and attention have moved on, but the human suffering has grown. It is a chronic state, not a crisis. However, this is the phase in which the Church excels. Our churches are part of the communities that have been impacted and can best identify needs and work with the community to address them efficiently and effectively.

“Contributing to Episcopal Relief & Development will ensure that we have enough resources to support the work of our church partners as they serve the most vulnerable in their communities. They are best positioned to assess needs and timing for response efforts.

“One of the immediate ways Episcopal Relief & Development and our partners help individuals is by handing out gift cards to local stores so that people can choose what they need the most. It not only affords people dignity but it also helps stimulate the local economy, which needs to recover post-disaster. ”